Letter-box



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'Letter Box. No. 231,523. Patented Aug. 24,1880.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

W. W. BARNES.

- Letter Box.

Patented Aug. 24,1880.

\.VIIII!IIIIIII'I'IIIIIII I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESLEY W. BARNES, OF NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO JOSEPH FERGUSON ROBINSON, OF MIDDLETOWN, NEW YORK.

LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,523, dated August 24., 1880.

Application filed July 1, 1880 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WESLEY WHITIING BARNES, a citizen of the United States, resident at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Letter-Boxes and Signals; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawin gs, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this specir 5 fication.

This invention relates to an improved letterbox which will be automatically operated to sound a bell or other signal whenever mail matter or other material is deposited therein,

and the parts of which will be automatically set and will remain in position to indicate that such mail or other matter has been placed in the box until the same has been removed, and thus notify the owner of any fraudulent re- 2 5 moval of such matter, as more fully hereinafter specified.

The invention is particularly designed to facilitate the delivery of mail matter by car- 'riers, to save the time of messengers in trav- 0 cling to and from the postoffice, to obviate the answering of the calls of the carrier, and to afford the utmost security in the delivery of the mail. These objects I attain by the mech anism illustrated in the accompanying draw- 5 ings, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved letter-box and signal, "showing the same ready for the reception of mail and with the parts all in a normal position. Fig. 2 rep- 0 resents a vertical sectional view of the let-terbox, showing the position of the parts after the insertion of mail matter; and Fig, 3 represents an elevation of the signalmechanism with the front of its casing removed to show the interior.

The letter A indicates the letter-box, having an opening, B, for the insertion of mail and a drop-drawer, O,pivoted at D to the box for the collection of the mail.

-raised.

The letter E indicates a cover attached to arms F, secured to the interior of the box by means of pivots G, and provided with eccentrics H, which are connected by a transverse rod, A, to which one end of a strap, I, of leather, metal, or other suitable material, is attached. The cover E, when the parts of the device are in a normal position, sets over and covers the opening B, so as to prevent the insertion of mail matter until the said cover is The strap I passes over a pulley, K, mounted between standards L, secured to the interior of the box, and after passing over said pulley'extends downward and communicates with the signal mechanism M by means of suitable chains, wires, or other connections, N. The said strap I is provided on its front with a stud or button, P, of metal or other suitable material, and the rear of the drop-drawer is provided with a drop-catch, R, pivoted between standards S, secured to said drawer, for the purpose hereinafter explained.

The signal mechanism consists of an ordinary train of clock-gearing, to the escapement-pawl T of which is secured a hammer, U,which strikes 7 5 and sounds a signal-bell, V, to indicate when mail matter has been deposited in the letterbox. The said mechanism is operated to ring the bell by means of a spring, W, which is kept properly wound for the purpose, the said mech- 8o anism'being held stationary until the proper time for sounding the signal by means of a spring-detent, A, secured in the casing of the signal mechanism, and engaging a pin, B, on the shaft O. The shaft 0 is revolved by gearing connected with the spring W whenever the arm B is released from the detent A. The said spring-detent has connected to it one end of the chain or other connection extending from the strap 1, and is operated there- 0 by when the cover of the mail-opening is elevated to release the pin and permit the clockwork to operate the hammer and sound the bell.

The letter E indicates a detent pivoted at 5 F within the signal-casing, and provided with a projection, G, extending through a slot in the front of the casing, whereby the clock mechanism may be stopped by hand when required in the following manner: \Vhen the arm B has been released from the detent A, by raising the latter the shaft 0 will carry the arm B around, and the alarm will continue to sound until the arm B is arrested by raising the deteut E up by pushing upon the projection G until the arm B will strike it and be stopped by it, thus stopping the alarm.

The operation ofmy invention will be readily understood in connection with the above description, and is as follows: To deposit mail or other matter in the letter-box the door is elevated from the mail-opening for the purpose. This draws on the strap, operating the springdetent and causing it to release the arm of the clock mechanism, so as to sound the signal.

The button orstud on the strap above-mentioned, as the strap is elevated, rises above the upper edge of the drop-catch, which falls under said button and holds the strap until the drop-drawerisopened for the removal of mail.

The signal-box may be located in any portion of a building, the letter-box being located at the main entrance, where the carrier is re quired to leave all mail, and upon depositing the mail the signal will call attention to the fact, and themail may be removed immediately or subsequently, as desired. After depositing the mail matter the device will be set to show that the matter has been deposited. If it is not desirable to take the mail from the box at once the projection G may be left raised. Upon coming to the signal again it may be ascertained if the mail has been taken from the letter-box by simply depressing the projection l, which will permit the alarm to ring if the box has not been opened to release the strap I. If, however, the box has been opened, the strap will have been released from the dropeatch It, and the arm B will have been caught by the detent A, and the alarm will not sound until the cover E has been again raised.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the hinged cover, the strap provided with a stop or button, and the drop-drawer provided with a drop-catch, the signal device and its detent connected with said strap, the whole constructed to operate substantially as specified.

.2. In combination with the letter-box, its operating-strap and connections, and signal device, the detent adapted to be operated by hand to arrest the signal-operating mechanism, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WESLEY WHITTING BARNES.

Witnesses:

CHARLES B. KENNEY, EDUARD BARNES. 

